Give Me Therapy

The biggest smile.

She screams. The voices surround her, stripping her of her dignity and plunging her into a sea of dark shadows and make-believe.

Mocking, taunting, laughing.

"You're not good enough. You're a failure. Nobody wants you here, you're a wreck. An emotional wreck and a burden to everyone you love. You're alone. Completely alone, and you always will be. You're worthless and ugly. And all those stupid, stupid scars - nobody will ever want you."

The disembodied voices laugh again.

The girl fights helplessly back, forcing her mind to push unwanted memories away.

But the more she fights, the more she realises the voices are right.

Society says so.

Nobody will want the girl with a damaged past. Dark jeans and scars lining her wrists. Pale skin and unnaturally ebony coloured hair. Broken converse, and a broken heart.

People begin to notice the girl, cowering in a dark corner; eyes wide and darting restlessly.

"Look at her," they think, "stupid emo. What a waste of life."

"Ugh, those ugly tattoos. Idiot teenagers, probably drunk."

"Attention seeker."

"Depressing freak."

"Weirdo."

"Worthless drug addict."

But the girl doesn't hear.

She's given up trying to forget. The memories come flooding, taking over her mind and ripping apart her efforts to stay sane. There's nothing she can do but remember.

The sharp intake of breath and a scream. An earsplitting crash, a shower of glass. A swirl of pitch darkness swiftly enveloping the two girls. A deafening silence.

The girl rushes back to reality, noticing the seemingly oblivious swarm of people making their way around the town.

Then, she runs.

She ignores the angry shouts and jokes, ignores the voices inside her head. Her legs begin to ache and she pushes herself further. The burning sensation pulses through her body, making her weaker.

Her vision blurs around the edges, leaving her dizzy and unsteady.

But the girl doesn't stop running.

Not until she reaches the bridge.

She pulls the band from her hair and the bracelets from her wrists, and puts one foot up on the thin railings.

"Jump, Ever. Jump." the voices whisper, breaking slightly the foothold she has on the rusted bridge railings.

The whistle of the wind and the rush of cars comfort her; leaving the world will have no effect on the day-to-day routine of the city.

The Tallahassee skyline glows orange as the sun sets, casting deep shadows across the roads and making the water below sparkle like a thousand stars.

Her other foot leaves the ground and the wind weaves through her hair, flicking it elegantly back and forth across the porcelain skin of her face.

She bends her legs, takes a deep breath.

"I deserve to die." She screams at the top of her voice, the biggest smile across her lips.